Window regulator



Feb. 17, 1953 c.. H. BLANTON 2,628,833

WINDOW REGULATOR I 2 Sl-lEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Sept. 19, 1950 C. H BLAN TON INVENTOR.

A TTORNE Feb. 17,1953 c. H. BLANTON wmnow REGULATOR 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Sept, 19. 1950 C. H. BLANTO/V INVENTOR. 5C. 971 BY W @22 flTTORA/E s Patented Feb. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES TENT [OFFICE WIND OW REGULATOR Charles H. Blanton, Royal Oak, Mich, assignor to Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Mich., a corporation of Delaware.

Application September 19, 1950, Serial No. 185,551

2 Claims. (01. 268-426) This invention relates generally to window frame and also to the body structure as required,

depending upon the particular type of window regulator used. For example, with a cross arm type regulator it is necessary to attach one end of each of the two winging arms to horizontally extending channel guideways carried by the window glass frame and also 'to connect one end of one of the arms to a channel guideway fixedly secured to the body structure. Difliculty is encountered in making these connections during assembly because of the restricted space between the inner and outer door or body panels,

and in some cases this is accomplished by sliding the retainers carried by the regulator arms through open end portions of the channel shaped guideways. This is not entirely satisfactory however, due to the manipulation required to make these connections, and it is an object of the present invention to overcome these dimculties. In one embodiment of the invention atitachment means are provided comprising a stud carried by each regulator arm and having a tapered or chamfered end portion easily in- =sortable into a bore formed in a retainer which has been' preassembled to the channel guideway. "The retainer is slotted on opposite sides and cal construction having a minimum of parts which may be rapidly assembled thus also eiiect ing a saving in labor.

Other object and advantages of the invention will be made more apparent as this description proceeds, particularly when considered It i customary in the v 2 in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein; Figure 1 is an elevational view of a window regulator mechanism embodying the present in- 'vention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view on "the line z- -z of Figure 1.

Figure 315 a transverse cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a side-elevational view on a portion of the structure shown in Figure 2.

Referring now to the drawings, the present invention is shown in connection with a conventional cross arm regulator, but it will be understood that it is also applicable to other types of regulators as well. The reference character .N indicates a vertically slideable window glass .for a motor vehicle, mounted either in a door thereof or in a portion of the body structure. The lower edge of the window glass I I is mounted in a U-shaped frame member 52. A pair of horizontally extending guideways I3 and I4 depend from the frame i2 and are suitably secured thereto as by spotwelding. Upon reference to Figure 2 it will be noted that the guideway I4 is generally channel shaped in cross-section with the upper leg of the channel being secured to the glass frame :2. Intermediate its ends the vertical web of the guideway is formed with a horizontally extending slot [6 defined by inwardly bent upper and lower flanges I! and I8 respectively.- The end portions of the flanges l1 and it are bent outwardly and each of the flanges is thus a modified V in cross section. The guideway i3 is similar to the guideway l4 except that it is shorter in length.

The cross arm regulator comprises a pair of crossed arms 2| and 22 of equal length. The power arm 2| is mounted for pivotal movement about a fixed pivot 23 and has secured thereto a gear segment, 24. The balance arm 22 extends through an arcuate slot 26 in the power arm 2| and is pivoted at 21 to the midpoint of the power arm. f s

The gear segment 24 may be actuated in any convenient manner, the drawing showing a power actuated regulator in which anelectric motor 2i} drives a pinion gear 29 through. a gear box 3|. The motor and gearbox are mounted upon a supporting plate .32 carried by the vehicle body structure." r

A fixed channel shaped guideway 33 is carried by the vehicle body structure and slideably receives'aretainer supported at the lower end of the balance arm 22, while the guideways i3 and 14 carried by the window glass frame slideably receive similar retainers mounted at the upper ends of the swinging regulator arms 2! and 22. The retaining means mentioned above will now be described and for this purpose reference is made to Figures 2, 3 and 4. Inasmuch as the three retainers utilized in connection with the cross arm regulator mechanism shown are identical in construction, only one will be described in detail.

A cylindrical stud 36 is rigidly mounted upon the outer end of the regulator arm 2], the reduced end portion 3! of the stud being riveted to the arm. A short distance from theregulator arm the stud is formed with an annular groove 38. The outer end portion of the stud is chamfered or tapered at 39.

Cooperating with the stud 36 carried by the regulator arm is a retainer assembly slideably received within the slot [6 formed in the window guideway I4. This retainer assembly comprises a roller or sleeve 4 I, the internal diameter being of such size as to permit rotation and sliding movement relative to the stud 36. The outer end of the sleeve 4! is provided with a flange 42 engageable with the adjacent sides of the horizontally extending V-shaped flanges i! and 18 of the guideway I4. A conical washer 43 is slideably mounted upon the sleeve 4| and engages the opposite sides of the V-shaped flanges .IT and I 8.

Near its opposite end the sleeve 4| is formed with a pair diametrically opposite chordal slots @4 extending completely through the walls of the sleeve and opening into the interior thereof. A spring clip 45 of the hairpin type has inwardly extending yieldable detent portions 41 adapted to project through the slots 44 of the sleeve for a purpose to be hereinafter described more in detail. The spring clip 46 serves as a retainer for a fiat washer 48 which in turn supports one end of a coil spring 49 the opposite end of which bears upon the conical washer 43.

The three retainer assemblies described above are assembled to the channel shaped guideways J3, l4 and 33 and it will be seen that they may be readily slid or rolled horizontally within the guide flanges l1 and is of the guideways. The window regulator mechanism including the cross arms 2! and 22, gear segment 24, motor .28 and gear box 3i are preassembled to the supporting plate 32 and this unit is then inserted between the inner and outer door or body panels and the supporting plate 32 is suitably secured to one of the panels.

To complete the assembly it is only necessary to insert the studs 36 carried at the ends of the regulator arms through the sleeves 4| of the retainer assemblies. The tapered end portions 39 of the studs facilitates this attachment and also enables the yieldable detent portions 41 of the spring clip 46 to be spread apart as the stud is inserted. When the studs 36 have been fully inserted into the sleeves 4|, the detent portions fl! of the spring clips snap into the annular grooves 38 formed in the studs 36 and the assembly is completed. Removal of the mechanism can be readily efiected by .detaching the spring clips 46 with a suitable tool. It will be apparent that with the construction described above the con nections between the regulator arms and the guideways can be readily accomplished, even though the space between'the door 'or'body panels is rather restricted, since it is only necessary to snap the studs carried by the ends of the regulator arms into the retainer assemblies carried by the guideways. A resulting saving in labor cost results.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact construction shown and described, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a window regulator for a vertically slideable motor vehicle window, spaced horizontal guideways secured to the lower edge of said window, a retainer assembly slideably and rotatably mounted in each of said guicleways, each of said .retainer assemblies comprising a hollow sleeve having an enlarged flange at one end thereof, a pair of washers slideably mounted on said sleeve, a coil spring encircling said sleeve between said washers, and a spring clip embracing said sleeve and having inwardly extending detent portions projecting through slots formed in opposite side walls of said sleeve,said retainer assemblies being adapted to be preassembled to said guideways, a Window regulator mechanism comprising a support, a pair of crossed regulator arms, a gear segment secured to one of said arms, and studs secured to the outer ends of said regulator arms and extending into the hollowsleeves of said re tainer assemblies, each of said studs having an annular groove formed in its periphery to receive the detent portions of said spring clips and a tapered end portion at the end of the stud remote from the regulator arm, said regulator assembly being preassembled as a unit and readily attached to the horizontal guideways by inserting the studs at the ends of the regulator arms into the sleeves of the retainer assemblies carried by the guideways until the detent portions of the spring clips thereof snap into the annular grooves formed in the studs to complete the assembly.

2. In a window regulator for a vertically slideable window, a pair of spaced horizontal channels secured to the lower edge of said window, each of said channels being formed with vertically opposed V-shaped guideways forming horizontal slots therebetween, a retainer assembly slideably and rotatably mounted in each of said slotted channels, each of said retainers comprising a hollow sleeve having an enlarged integral flange at one end, said flange being formed with a conical surface engageable with one side of the V- shaped guideways of the channels, a conical washer slideably mounted upon said sleeve facing the integral end flange of said sleeve and engageable with the other side of said V-shap'ed guideways, a fiat washer on said sleeve, a spring clip embracing said sleeve and having radially inwardly extending .detent portions projecting through slots formed in opposite sidewalls of said sleeve adjacent the end of said sleeve remote from said integral end flange, said clip forming a backing for said flat washer. a coil spring encircling said sleeve between said fiat and conical washers and yieldably urging said conical washer and the integral end flange of said sleeve into engagement with opposite sides of said guideways, a window regulator.mechanismcomprising a support, a pair of crossed regulator arms, and studs secured to the outer ends of said regulator arms and extending into the hollow sleeves of said retainer assemblies, each of said studs having an annular groove formed in its periphery adjacent the regulator armto receive the detent portions of said spring clips and a tapered end 5 portion at the end of the stud remote from the regulator arm, said regulator assembly being preassembled as a unit and readily attached to the horizontal guideways by inserting the tapered ends of the studs at the ends of the regulator arms into the sleeves of the retainer assemblies carried by the guideways until the detent portions of the spring clips thereof automatically snap into the annular grooves formed in the studs to complete the assembly.

CHARLES H. BLANTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number Number 6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Dalton Oct. 20, 1914 Fauser et al Nov. 19, 1929 'Kindelmann et a1. July 5, 1932 Hardtke May 9, 1933 Gudmundsen Oct. 15, 1935 Toncray et a1 Aug. 30, 1938 Roethel Oct. 14, 1941 Roethel Oct. 8, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France Sept. 16, 1930 

